Hooray to Monica

---

On Sunday, the kids and I went over the hill (to Christchurch) to take the girls to the orthodontist. Avery has been without care since January and the elastics on her braces broke weeks ago. Avery is now back on track and we have agreed to start Adrianne out after confirming that her Toronto orthodontist could continue her treatment on our return.

Tuesday was the annual Family Night at the Reefton Area School. Families enter as teams and engage in a variety of activities, from trivia to balloon races. One of the activities had the kids modeling their favorite Simpson character out of clay. Avery turned her back on her own family and joined up with another on a team called the "Egg Heads" (she sewed egg shells on to her hat in a show of support for her new family). Naturally, her new family were trounced by our team (Harte
Felt). I believe that we pulled ahead decisively when Astrid broke into the Macarena during the line dance competition.

Friday was Mufti Day at the area school. The term "mufti" as I know it comes from the days of the British Raj and was used by soldiers - mainly officers to describe the non military clothes they wore when off duty. In this case, it was day that the kids were allowed to wear casual clothes to school, rather than their usual school uniform. They had to bring along a donation which went to the the Rescue Helicopter Fund. Curiously, the rescue helicopter/air ambulance is not funded by the government and relies on local donations to keep going. Its principal sponsor is Solid Energy (the major coal producer in New Zealand).

Monica (the other doc in Reefton) is heading back to the U.S. and another U.S. doctor has taken her place. We hosted a party to say hooray (goodbye) to Monica and hello to the new doc and another nurse who have joined the team. In retrospect much of the week was spent cleaning up the house - no mean feat. I was constantly after the sprogs (kids) to rattle their dags (hurry up). The dunny (toilet, bathroom) got a thorough going over. In the end, it turns out that sufficient alcohol is the only mandatory ingredient for a successful West Coast party. The piss-up (social gathering with alcohol) continued on until 2:00 a.m. I can't recall when I was last up at that hour of the night. Happily, no one ended up sucking the kumura (dead).

Mother's Day was spent attending to Astrid's ever need. She received a very flash (sensational) Merino-Possum sweater and matching socks. They call the sheep's wool/possum fur blend "MerinoMink" - the tourists wouldn't be willing to pay so much for something called possum.

---

Photos

Family Night at the Area School
The kids busy themselves making a clay image of Lisa Simpson - one of the many "games" which were party of the Annual Family Night at the Reefton Area School

Comments

[Rita]

Learning the Lingo
Glad to see that you are learning the lingo and hope the greenies aren't getting mad about the MerinoMink. Aren't the possums eating their way through vast swathes of Kiwi vegetation? ..... but then I guess that was due to the animal rights people letting them out in the first place! We are back in UK now having enjoyed the bustle of Bangkok. Its great to be back home in green green England where it is almost as wet as NZ at the moment.

[Aunty Irene]

Language
It's great that you are learning Australianese. I'm glad that you can translate for us so that we don't get the wrong ideas with these new expressions.

[CanadianKiwis]

Possums
Possum are indeed quite a nuisance over here. They consume native vegetation at an alarming rate and are a predator of the Kiwi. They also litter the highways.

[CanadianKiwis]

???????
1. it's mufty not mufti 2. flash is pretty/cool looking 3. i like pointing out the mistakes of others